Save Money (and the Earth) with Xeriscaping

I live in near desert conditions. So it is always amazing to me how much emphasis is placed on having a nice expanse of green lawn in the front. Sprinkler systems have to be put in and a lot of water used to keep the grass looking beautiful. In the end, that costs a lot of money. We recently bought a new house, and we are thinking of how we want to do the yard. In the front, we've decided that xeriscaping is the way to go.

Saving money on xeriscaping

Where we live, there are grants and programs that allow us to get a consultation on xeriscaping our yard at a low cost. Additionally, there are discounts offered through the program for buying native trees, shrubs, grasses and other plants. We also plan to include a rock garden, so that so many plants won't actually be necessary for our front yard. Between the native, drought resistant plants, and the rock garden, we shouldn't need a great deal of water for our front. And we won't need a sprinkler system at all. Instead, we will have a less-expensive drip system.

So, with our xeriscaped front yard, we will save money in the following ways:

*Water usage will be low for maintenance, saving us money every month on the water bill.
*We won't have to pay to put in an expensive sprinkler system.
*The grass and shrubs we buy and plant ourselves will cost less than laying down sod or hydroseeding.
*Our reduced-fee consultation will cost less through the city's sustainable living program than it would through a landscaping company.

What to do with the back yard?